Mobility devices, such as ambulatory aids assist a user in pedestrian activities such as walking, climbing and descending stairs, and related activities, where a user moves from place to place on foot. Two basic types of mobility devices include canes and crutches. Both of these types of mobility devices are loaded with a compressive strain when relied upon by the user to support all or a portion of a user's weight.
Disabilities suffered by different parts of the body can cause difficulties in walking, climbing stairs and otherwise negotiating impediments to foot traffic encountered in a modern lifestyle. A wide variety of disabilities, whether temporary or longer lasting, can significantly impair a person's ability to acquire and maintain stability, whether at rest or in motion. While some physical conditions may be temporary, lasting only certain parts of the day or for a defined period of time such as a few weeks or months, more permanent disabilities cause a drastic change in lifestyle, requiring a person to develop new coping skills. Oftentimes, throughout an adaptation process, progress is slow and one set of physical problems and limitations are often substituted for, or augmented by, another.
One particular challenge presented to disabled individuals is the ability to independently negotiate environments designed for those that are relatively healthy. Constructions of sidewalks, building passageways and a wide variety of public and private places assume that an individual will be able to readily negotiate building features as a person walks from one place to another. For example, individuals are expected to be able to negotiate not only long flights of stairs but also ramps, curbs, slopes and escalators. Persons who experience a certain amount of debilitation leading to impairment of their ability to walk and climb, are faced with new challenges if they expect to remain independently mobile. In the past, there have been a wide variety of walking aids such as canes, forearm and underarm crutches and wheeled-support devices to assist individuals in this regard. One line of products which should receive immediate user acceptance are those about to be offered by STRONGARM Inc., assignee of the present invention.
Several difficulties have been encountered over the years, by users of walking aid devices. While a relatively healthy individual suffering from a brief medical setback may more readily adapt to canes and other mobility support devices, users having long-term disabilities are less able to cope with compromises in mobility device designs. It is well-known, for example, that when one part of the body weakens, the loads and stresses previously borne by that part of the body are distributed to other body parts. Oftentimes, individuals with long-term disabilities are not able to distribute such loads as effectively as healthy individuals. Problems therefore arise with individuals who are less able to distribute forces from one body part to another. It has been found that the designs of mobility devices must accommodate heightened sensitivities of individuals who are at greater physical risk. It is imperative that such physical risk be minimized and the individual rendered more comfortable, if independent mobility is to be retained.
Accordingly, improvements in mobility devices are constantly being sought. Desirable improvements for example would include the ability to achieve and thereafter maintain day-long stability whether walking or standing inactive.
The need for providing mobility devices with improved support characteristics will be met by a mobility device commercially available under the trade designation “STRONGARM Support Cane,” soon to be offered for sale by the assignee of the present invention. This mobility device includes a tubular body with a plurality of bends for engaging a user's forearm while providing a graspable handle and a lower portion with a tip for engaging a floor, parking lot or other support surface. Despite the substantial improvements offered by the STRONGARM Support Cane, further advances, particularly in user-perceived support, stability and control are being sought.
In a separate field of endeavor, utility handles have been proposed for a variety of purposes, such as lifting or supporting a power tool or a tool which is manually operated, such as a shovel or rake. U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,429, by the inventor of the present invention provides a utility handle including a tubular body with bends for engaging a user's forearm and a handle graspable by the user. The utility handle is useful for lifting or otherwise supporting portable objects in a raised position, but is not configured to effectively support a user's weight, as with a crutch or cane.